The Labor enquirer., 1887-05-21

have been saved had they only had the
courage to turn their backs ON their Jes-
uitical advisers, and to speak out. For
six months every organ of the rich would
have advocated their extirpation; for six
months their proposals would have been
eagerly discussed by men in every rank in
every nation; and in six months time the
justice, the grandeur of their cause would
have been apparent to all the world, and
they would have had hundred allies,
cager to take up arms on their behalf, for
every silent sympathizer they have at
present. We have as a rule no conception
of the power of truth, simply because we,
most of us, at heart distrust the goodness
df human nature, and small wonder when
religion and governments have for centu-
ries been teaching US that human nature
is a base and hideous thing, to be -keptTn
subsection and checked at every point!
Turn to the Labor movement in Amer
lea. The writer has been for years a
Knight of Labor, and has spoken dozens
of times with copy of their platform in
his hand. He is not ashamed to say that
without copy before him it would be
to-day impossible for him to give a cate
gorical account of the demands of the
X. of L. In reality the twenty-five planks
of that platform are coated with almost
as many kinds of mOlasses to catch as
many different kinds of flies. The green
backer, the radical Socialist, the conserv-
ative workingman, whose ideas of reform
are confined to stopping the importation
of pauper labor, have each perfect right
to claim the organization as their own,
and also to distrust it profoundly. The
Socialist who is caught by the glittering
plank that promises the overthrow of the
wage-system, quickly finds that there are
score of other planks proposing mere
palliatives, many of which cannot possi-
bly, be applied, not one of which can
solve the social question: -Morrison's pills,
quack remedies every one of them. Let
him try to concentrate the attention and
efforts of his brother Knights on the one
important plank-the one relating to the
overthrow of the wage-system, which car
ries with it the land, the machinery and
every other question, and proposes to rev.
oluticnize society-and he will find them
frittering away their energies on the
twenty other planks, the mere side issues.
Now l honestly believe that there is not
mar, on the Executive Board to day who
does not luow thatuntil the people, as a
whole, resume possession of the land, to
which they have natural right, and of
the machinery, to which they have an
equally natural right, since it was pro-
duced by the joint labor of this, and
countless preceding generations; that
until the cannibalistic wage system is
thereby replaced by the system of general
partnership, of universal brotherhood,
things must go from bad to worse. They
also know that this change must be effect
ed without the payment of any cOmpen-
sation. Have they the courage to speak
out
Upon this, at least, all parties are
agreed, that what is wanted is light. The
most extreme Anarchist journals defend
their violent courses on the plea that it is
necessary to rouse the sleepy, to force dis
cussion, and thereby generate light. The
most conservative organizations-such as,
at the present moment the, Knights of
Labor defend their inactiOn on the plea
that their members are ignorant, and that
education, that light are wanted. Let us
then by all means have it. Let the lead
ers of this great industrial army issue
pamphlets showing clearly-as what is
true can always be shown-their theory of
gradual evolution showing step by step
how the palliative measures proposed will
gradually lead to the overthrow of the
wage system, the final elimination which
their platform evidently regards as inevi-
table. This would indeed be peaceful
work, worthy of great humanitarian in
stitution, for it would save thousands of
: their brother Knights, whom they have
sworn to defend against risk, from COM
mitting themselves to violence. They
have in their hands all the machinery to
do this, but what is the good of machinery
when you have not the courage to put it
in motion.
Others there are who know that fight
in the dark is the most dangerous of all
who have taken count of the years of pain
full struggle that will be saved to suffering
humanity by stating its claims so plainly
that all may clearly comprehend, so loudly
that none can fail to hear. Men who, if
any organization to which they belong
fails to do its duty, will not be deferred
from doing theirs by the fear of being de-
nounced as traitors; men who have strip
ped off their coats and put their hands to
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